Spacing-tool.



PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

0. MQKENZIE.

SPAGING TOOL.

APPLIGATION FILED 33.16. 1907.

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CHARLES MCKENZIE, OF PORT HURON, MICHIGAN.

SPACING-TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1908.

Application filed February 16. 1907. Serial No. 357.633-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MCKENZIE,

citizen of the United States, residing at Port Huron, in the county of St. Clair and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spacing- Tools, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object an improved construction of tool for spacing purposes generally, the present tool being designed particularly for carpenters use in house building or kindred employments and for spacing window and door casing, corner boards, frieze boards for sidings, shingles, or brick-work, for spindles of balusters, tile work, roof shingles, lattice work, studding, joists, rafters and the like, the invention providing means whereby spacing may be accomplished in an expeditious and simple manner.

WVith these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the invention proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts as will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for efi'ecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a face view of my improved spacing tool; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof on an enlarged scale, showing only a portion of the tool, the section being taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, with parts in side elevation, the section being taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the marker plates and an end of one of the marker bars, showing the same in juxtapo sition; Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the clamping bolts, or rivets hereinafter described; and, Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating an end portion of the gage bar.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

My improved spacing tool comprises any desired number of foundation bars 1 that are jointed together to produce a lazy tong,,con

struction, countersunk rivets 2 being employed to pivotally connect the foundation bars together where they intersect, and the ordinary round shank and flat head rivets 3 being employed to connect the overlapped ends of the bars at one side of the tool. At

their opposite ends, the foundation bars 1 are joined together by means of rivets 4.

1 designates two end bars that may be dispensed with if desired, but which are employed in the present instance merely as a matter of taste, and to add to the symmetrical appearance of the tool.

Marker bars 5 extend transversely across the foundation bars at the jointed ends thereof, and are held by the rivets 3 at one end and by the rivets 4 in an adjustable manner at their other ends. These marker bars are provided near their ends with shoulders 6 and at their ends with laterally turned extremities 7. The marker bars are also formed with slots 8 and the rivets 4 are provided with tongues 4 accommodated by said slots, so as to guide the marker bars and hold them in true parallel planes when the lazy tong formed by the foundation bars 1 is elongated or contracted. The slots 8 are of sufficient length to permit the foundation bars 1 to be elongated to the limit and to be also contracted until the limit of contraction is reached by the abutment of the marker bars 5 along their side edges.

In addition to the main marker bars 5, I provide an auxiliary marker bar 9 located between the two marker bars 5 at one end of the instrument and like said main marker bars, except that it is preferably shorter. The auxiliary marker bar 9 is formed with laterally projecting end extensions 10, and a slot 11. The purpose of this auxiliary marker bar will be set forth when the operation of the entire tool is hereinafter described.

A gage bar 12 extends longitudinally of the tool at right angles to the marker bars and is provided at one end with a round or disk-like head 13 which is formed with two transversely extending spaced ribs 14 adapted to receive between them the auxiliary marker bar 9. The said head is also formed on its under side with a transversely extending rib 19 which is of the same thickness as the main marker bars 5, so as to hold the disk under the gage bar at a proper elevation upon the foundation bars on which it rests. The gage bar 12 is formed with a longitudr nally extending slot 21 designed to receivethe shank of the rivet 16 passing through the foundation bars and provided with a head 15. Above the foundation bars the rivet 16 is provided on its shank with two tongues 17 and 18 extending at right angles to each other. The tongue 17 extends transversely of the tool and rests underneath the gage bar so as to hold the same in a proper plane together with the rib 19 while the tongue 18 fits within the slot 20 in the gage bar. This rivet is provided with a thumb nut, as shown so that it can be tightened. In connection with the clamping rivet 16, I provide another clamping rivet 21 which is adapted to pass through the slot 11 in the auxiliary gage bar, so as to hold said gage bar at different lateral adjustments. The gage bar is provided on its outer face with a scale 12 as clearly illustrated in the drawing.

22 designates marker plates each of which is provided with a slot 23, a spring latch 24 contiguous to the slot and with a hooked lug 25 and straight lug 26 in spaced relation projecting from one edge. Each lateral extension 7 of the main marker bars and each lateral extension 10 of the auxiliary marker bar is formed with a socket 27 adapted for engagement by a spring latch 24. In applying the marker plates 22, they are slipped over the lateral extensions of the marker bars, said extensions being received in the slots 23, and each plate is then tilted until its hooked lug 25 engages the rear side of the shoulder 6. The plate 22 is then turned out straight or in alinement with the marker bar and the latch 24 will slip into the socket 27 and hold the marker plate attached to the bar. To assist in holding the marker plate rigid, the straight lug 26 is provided, said lug engaging the opposite edge of the marker bar from that engaged by the hooked lug 25.

One of the methods ordinarily used by carpenters in spacing is the compass method. For instance, in spacing a window casing by the compassmethod, so that each siding will be the same width, that is, will have exactly the same width exposed, the carpenter takes a pair of compasses and sets the compasses to the required width of siding. One point of the compass is placed. at the very lowest part and then one leg or point after the other is spaced perpendicularly until the top of the window is reached. By this method, it will generally be found that one of the compass points is a little above or falls a little short of reaching just to the top limit as it should, and it then becomes necessary to reset the compasses by practically guessing how much to contract or expand them. The entire operation must then be repeated and if the second operation brings a wrong result, the operation must again be repeated, and so on, until it finally does come out right. This method obviously is not only tedious,

but unless the operator is careful, the window sill will be pricked or scratched and marked by the compass points.

By another commonly used method, namely, that of measuring, the total height of the window is ascertained and then divided into enough spaces to cause the proper width. of siding to show to the weather. This, manifestly, involves considerable calculation as well as the employment of particular measures, and. unless extreme care is taken, the variations of the rule that is being employed or the thickness of the pencil m ark will bring the entire calculation to naught. This method is seldom used, owing to its slowness and liability to mistake.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that I have prnvided a spacing tool having material and important advantages over the old methods of spacing. In using my improved spacing tool, the thumb nuts are loosened and the spacer expanded until the top edge of the second marker bar from the bottom comes to the figure on the scale 12 which is the width. of siding the carpenter desires to have shown to the weather. It is then placed on the frame or against the casing edge, and then which ever arm is spaced nearest the top of the window, the tool is expanded or contracted accordingly, and when the desired arm comes flush with the top of the window, the thumb screw 16 is tightened and the device is rigid. Then it is only necessary to mark with a pencil along the marker arms on the casing and the window is very quickly spaced. What is true of siding spacing is also true of all manner and kinds of spacing on a house or elsewhere.

The auxiliary'marker bar 9 is designed particularly for use with narrow spacing. In using the tool, for example, with three inch spacing, the tool is elongated until the arms 5 are at the sixth inch mark on the scale 12 Then the carpenter marks along the main marker arms and also alon the auxiliary marker arm. Then one of the main marker arms is brought to the mark along the auxiliary marker arm by resettin the entire tool and again the o erator wifi mark along all of the arms an three inch spaces will manifestly result. The same is true of any other spacewanted.

Some of the main marker arms 5 are provided in their side edges with recesses 28 to receive the tongues 17 and the rib 19 when the tool is contracted. I

The marker plates 22 are .designed particularly for use in spacing studding joists and rafters.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: I

1. In a tool of the character described, the combination of a series of 7 marker bars,

means for holding said marker bars at different distances apart, and marker plates detachably connected to the marker bars.

2. In a tool of the character described, the combination of a series of marker bars, means for holding said marker bars at different distances apart, the said marker bars having upturned ends, marker plates provided with openings receiving the upturned ends, and catches carried by the plates and engaging the said upturned ends.

3. In a tool of the character described, the combination of a series of marker bars, means loosely connecting the marker bars and admitting the same to be set at different spaces apart, and an auxiliary marker bar interposed between a pair of the main marker bars in cooperative relation thereto.

4. A spacing tool of the character described, comprising a series of foundation bars connected in a lazy tong construction, a series of main marker bars extending transversely of the foundation bars at the jointed ends thereof and pivotally and slidably connected to said ends, an auxiliary marker bar mounted between two of said main marker bars, a bar on which said auxiliary marker bar is mounted so as to be laterally adjustable, and means for rigidly connecting said gage bar to the foundation bars.

5. A spacing tool of the character described, consisting of a series of foundation bars connected together in a lazy tong construction, a series of transversely extending marker bars pivotally and slidingly con nected to the jointed ends of the foundation bars, an auxiliary marker bar, a gage bar I extending longitudinally of the series of foundation bars and provided with transl versely spaced ribs receiving the auxiliary marker bar between them, means for adjustably connecting said auxiliary marker bar to the gage bar, and means for rigidly connecting the gage bar to the foundation bars.

6. A tool of the character described, con sisting of a series of foundation bars pivotally connected together in a lazy tong construc tion, a series of marker bars pivotally and slidingly connected to the jointed ends of the foundation bars, means for rigidly holding the foundation bars at different elongations of the series, said marker bars being provided with laterally projecting ends and marker plates provided with openings adapted to accommodate said laterally projecting ends, and means for holding the marker plates and the ends of the marker bars.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a series of marker bars, means for holding said marker bars at different distances apart, said marker bars being provided near their ends with shoulders and. beyond said shoulders with laterally projecting extremities, and marker plates provided i r with slots receiving the said extremities and with spaced end lugs, one of which is hooked and is adapted to take around the shoulder of the marker, said extremity of the marker bar being provided with a socket, and a marker plate being provided with a spring latch adapted to slide in said socket.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES MCKENZIE. l/Vitnesses:

CHARLES W, ADAMS, 'MARK MoSEAN. 

